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Environmental Positions of the 2017 St. Pete Mayoral Candidates

For the past two years I have spent the vast majority of my time living in New York to attend school. Still, St. Petersburg, Florida will always be my home - for better or for worse. Although I lived in St. Pete for seventeen years, it has only been recently that I have really paid attention to the local politics. This is the first mayoral race that I am old enough to vote in - albeit with an absentee ballot, and I plan to take it very seriously.

With all the available materials (interviews, voting history, investigative articles, etc.) I have compiled a list of the seven candidates and dug into their environmental stances. The main contenders are really Rick Kriseman and Rick Baker. The rest are currently polling below 5%.

His central campaign is securing reparations for African-Americans. He is also is extremely critical of Kriseman’s role in the sewage crisis and its destruction of the environment. Additionally, he is in favor of community gardens.

Curiously, three weeks ago the Baker campaign released a video preaching Baker’s supposed history of supporting the environment. The 30 second ad includes references to how Baker expanded city parks, cleaned up Lake Maggiore, built bike trails and planted over 20,000 trees during his tenure.

While none of the candidates may be perfect, it's clear that the environment is a growing issue in the minds of voters. As Florida continues to face urgent threats from climate change, residents are more and more eager for leaders who can address some of its worst effects on our state.